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You couldn’t make it up, the singer says. There she was gearing up for her new album launch in nearly a decade, blissfully happy with her current love, and at long last the parent to a young child after dealing with conception issues for a decade, feeling invincible. Suddenly in spring she was diagnosed with breast cancer.

The musician, birth name Jessica Cornish, is known for being brutally honest. The LP, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was supposed to be an open book, addressing every moment of pain she’d faced since she last recorded music (endometriosis, pregnancy loss, broken romances, gaslighting, suicide) with typical candour. The lead track, the song No Secrets, was launched in April. But by then there was a mighty secret. Her diagnosis. Later second single, Living My Best Life, came out in late spring and Cornish was talking to press about how she was living her best life, while at the same time dealing with the disease. A month later she disclosed her condition, and in July she had a mastectomy.

She shoots me her best “Seriously?” glance. “I put out with a song called No Secrets. I’m conducting every interview, and they inquire, ‘Any updates?’ and I’m, like, ‘Well, not much…’” Cornish has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s yet to undergo cosmetic procedures.

Our interview takes place at a studio in London. She is sporting a light brown synthetic jacket, blue jeans with detailed white appliqués, beige footwear and oversized specs. Imagine motorcycle style meets 1970s Nana Mouskouri. “As if I’m in the 70s and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” Easy Rider, I say, recalling the film. “They used to call me that!” She grins. She is sharp-witted, unfiltered and direct. She says she has always been interested in humor and is hoping to make her first comedy performance in the coming year. “I enjoy humor. During performances I basically roast the fans.”

Health Struggles and Diagnosis

She was planning an appearance at the ceremony when she noticed an abnormality. “I immediately went to get it checked, had an test, and they told me, ‘It appears fine; your breasts are normal.’ And I was, like, ‘But I can feel it. I have arm pain and tingling in my hands whenever I rise.’ And they suggested, ‘How about a biopsy?’ It happened on March 28, the following my birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The doctor told her if it was bad news she’d call on the start of the week. By then Cornish had assured herself it was nothing. The way she explains it, it was simply too inconvenient to face illness when she had a busy schedule.

“It was a fortnight prior from releasing the album after eight years without an album and no new music. And she contacted me and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I thought, ‘Oh, it’s a Zoom, it won’t be anything.’ So I jump on the Zoom thinking it’s all going to be good, and she goes, ‘You might want to sit.’ The solemn tone? And she says, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your reports have come back as high-grade cancer cells.’” What did you say? “I replied, ‘Well, that’s not great. That’s not fucking great timing.’ The first thing I thought was, ‘I can’t die because my son needs me.’”

I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself

She viewed the procedure frightening and surreal. “I fear going under. They lead you. In urgent cases you are wheeled, but now I just marched with a gown on and my rear exposed. You feel like you’re in an episode of Black Mirror.” But, Cornish says, she’s been lucky. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the procedure. “Cancer sucks, man, but you know what? Thank fuck I found it early. I underwent removal recently and my affected breast now appears as a fruit under fabric.” Another grin. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”

The follow-up procedure is therapeutic and aesthetic. Her boobs, she notes, are now “different sizes. They didn’t do an implant as small as my original. That’s impolite! I thought, no need to bully me, I’m already having a hard period. Such disrespect! It’s funny because I said I’d not undergo augmentation because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be ideal. My plans were disrupted.”

Past Medical Issues

She is no stranger to illness. She believes her outlook on her diagnosis has been so positive because she’s used to health crises. Many times they occur alongside peak moments, acting as a reminder, or blow, to remind her not to take anything for granted. “Frankly, I feel life goes, ‘Things going well? Sit down.’ Ever since I was a child, it has often paired with achievements for me; something severe or obscure has affected my well-being.”

She recalls to her 11-year-old self, already starting her career starring in the stage in Whistle Down the Wind (she was chosen at the age of nine years old). That’s when she was diagnosed with the medical problem a syndrome, which can cause a tachycardia as well as lightheadedness and palpitations. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an IV drip, and returning to the hospital at night.” She skips forward six years, and teenage Jess has entered the female band the group while studying at the performing arts school. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a brain incident. Then when I was planning to release songs in the year 2020 I had a collision and my throat was injured and I couldn’t sing for a year.”

Hey, I say, slow down, I am overwhelmed. At just 17? She nods|agrees